Episode 51: Clam Soup It Is for Lunch Today
Right then, once more. Kanata, happy birthday!
She raised her mug of lemon sour, brimming to the brim, and clinked it against the beer mug offered to her.
A satisfying clink echoed, and then Yuri gulped the beer down into her stomach.
Yuri’s hair, which had been dyed all sorts of colours like gold and silver during university, had settled into a much calmer shade since she’d entered the workforce. We’d changed just a little since those days.
“Thanks for celebrating with me again this year.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Let’s eat and drink to our hearts’ content. It’s on me today.”
The alcohol seeped into my tired body. In the spring of my second year as a working adult, now twenty-four, I still couldn’t handle beer, but I’d grown into a reasonable adult. Compared to my first year, I felt I’d gained a little more ease.
“How’s work lately, Kanata? Busy?”
“Hmm, a bit hectic at the start of the month, but otherwise I’m getting home on time. What about you, Yuri?”
“Me? Still plenty of overtime, but it’s enjoyable, so I manage somehow.”
After a year studying abroad, I returned to Japan and joined an IT-related venture company after graduating university. That said, I was assigned to the administrative department, so I was enjoying a fairly relaxed working life.
Yuri and I remained as close as ever after graduating university. No matter how busy we were, we always managed to meet up like this at least once a month.
We’d vent to each other, offer comfort, and somehow got through that whirlwind first year of working life together.
The drinks after work are truly delicious. Yuri, who can hold her drink better than me, already has half her mug gone.
After setting her mug down on the table, Yuri suddenly clapped her hands as if remembering something.
“Come to think of it, I saw Ritsu the other day for the first time in ages. She’s been transferred back here. Still seems busy as ever, was huffing and puffing.”
“Really? So Ritsu-san’s back in Tokyo. I’d love to see her too…”
After graduating university, Ritsu-san joined a major bank and her first posting was apparently in Osaka. Yuri seemed to have visited her a few times, but I never managed to see her even after returning to Japan.
Time really does fly. It’s been nearly four whole years since I returned to England.
The days after parting ways with Yui were hellish.
Even so, the pain gradually faded with time, leaving only beautiful memories that still linger within my heart.
Yuri told me, “Stop dwelling on it forever and find a new love,” and after returning to Japan, she dragged me along to several matchmaking parties. But since then, my heart seemed to have frozen solid. No matter how attractive the person trying to woo me was, my heart didn’t flutter in the slightest.
“Yuri, I’ll be counting on you for my birthday next year too, alright?”
At that, Yuri gave a mischievous grin.
“…You know, Kanata, you really ought to get yourself a boyfriend soon.”
“Don’t make it sound so simple. It’s not something you can just decide to do, you know.”
Since Yuri is close with Ritsu-san, she surely must know what Yui-san is doing now.
But since returning to Japan, we hadn’t once spoken Yui’s name aloud.
This autumn, Yui will turn twenty-six. I don’t want to think about it, but she might already be married. I know Yuri’s right – I should move on.
Even so, I still spend my days clutching my worn-out orca soft toy as I sleep.
I downed a lemon sour in one gulp, hoping to drown out the unpleasant feelings. Come spring, the pain I thought I’d forgotten would occasionally resurface.
Whether she knew it or not, Yuri, sitting right in front of me, celebrated my birthday like this every year. I was truly saved by her kindness.
＊＊＊
The next day, having met Yuri for the first time in ages and gotten overly excited, I ended up drinking too much. True to form, I was hungover, clutching my throbbing temples as I made my way to work.
I arrived at the office at 8:53. Having walked slowly from the nearest station, I was cutting it rather fine.
I held my employee ID card up to the attendance system terminal and opened the office door.
“Good morning…”
“Ah, Aosawa-chan, good morning!”
Mitsuya-san, the woman seated next to my desk, raised her hand. She was two years my senior and had been my mentor for the previous year.
This company has a casual dress code, so you can basically wear whatever you like, but Mitsuya-san always wore a crisp jacket. Her shoulder-length dark brown hair was glossy, with the ends always perfectly trimmed. She gave off the impression of a woman who was thoroughly competent at her job.
Those slanted eyes seemed a bit intimidating at first, but that impression vanished within a week of joining the company. She’s easy-going and a really nice lady.
“Good morning, Mitsuya-san.”
“You look a bit down today. Feeling unwell?”
“Just a bit hungover…”
“Well then, that means clam soup for lunch today, for Aosawa-chan’s sake.”
Saying that, Mitsuya-san flashed a bright smile, revealing her white teeth.
Clam soup, huh? That must mean that set meal place we always go to. In that case, I’ll have the fried horse mackerel set today, I thought to myself as I pressed the power button on my laptop.
“Aosawa-chan, the data’s come through from Accounting, so I’ll share it with you. Can you submit the monthly report to the manager by midday?”
“Yes, no problem. I’ll have it done before lunchtime.”
My role in the Management Control Team mainly involves analysing various financial statements from Accounting and managing budgets.
This period after the accounting close, when the data comes through, is the busiest.
Checking the shared data, I couldn’t help but sigh. Oh dear, another deficit this month.
This company has multiple IT-related businesses, but the “Web Production Division” I belong to has been operating at a loss since before I joined.
Selling, general and administrative expenses are tracking within budget each month, but the crucial sales figures are utterly hopeless. They routinely fall a full ten per cent below budget.
Our job is budget management, so when the very foundation is crumbling, we’re pretty much powerless.
“Same old story this month, eh?”
“Yeah. They seem to be trying to turn things around, but it’s not really showing any effect. It’s the third year now, so I’m thinking of putting in a transfer request myself.”
“Eh?”
Hearing that out of the blue, I instinctively stopped typing and turned around.
A transfer? No way. The Web Production Division is quite compact compared to others, and within that, the Management Control Team consists of just three people: the manager, myself, and Mitsuya-san.
The thing is, this division has been shrinking year by year. From the company’s overall perspective, it’s not a department with particularly heavy operational weight, so it tends to be where young staff are assigned, partly for training purposes.
“But… Mitsuya-san, please don’t leave me behind.”
As I clung to her, she glanced around nervously for a moment before beckoning me over with a few quick gestures. Wondering what was up, I hurriedly pulled my chair closer. Then Mitsuya-san began whispering in my ear.
“Just between us… apparently our division’s in a bit of a fix. There’s all sorts of rumours going round – about shutting it down, selling it off, you name it.”
“Huh!?”
Just when I thought I’d finally got the hang of the job after a year, hearing that whispered suddenly made me gasp out loud. “Shhh,” Mitsuya-san admonished, raising her index finger, so I hurriedly covered my mouth with both hands.
“You’d better submit a transfer request soon, Aosawa-chan. At the next personnel review, perhaps.”
Even if you say so… My shoulders slumped dejectedly as I turned back to my computer. This company has a free-spirited culture, good communication, and is generally easy to work for, but it seems I wasn’t blessed with a favourable assignment.
What will become of my position…? While pondering this, I could only mechanically complete my morning tasks in a blue mood.
“Aosawa-chan, can you get out for lunch soon?”
Just as the clock hands pointed to twelve, Mitsuya-san snapped her laptop shut. Following suit, I closed mine too.
“Ah, Mitsuya-san, I’ll catch up shortly, so please go ahead. The manager asked me to run an errand for the accounting department, so I’ll drop by there first.”
“Right then, I’ll wait downstairs in the entrance hall.”
I gathered the receipts handed to me by the manager earlier when I submitted the monthly report, slipped them into a clear folder, tucked it under my arm, and hurried down to the floor below.
Our manager doesn’t seem to get on well with the accounting department staff, so I’m always shuttling between floors like a carrier pigeon. It has helped me get on well with the accounting staff, though.
I’d only intended to drop off the receipts today, but ended up wasting a bit of time chatting about trivial matters.
I had to hurry because I was keeping Mitsuya-san waiting downstairs. I pulled my smartphone from my pocket to send a message and hurried towards the lift at a trot.
Because I was staring intently at my phone screen, I didn’t notice someone appearing from around the corner until it was too late. We collided head-on with a solid thud, and I stumbled back involuntarily.
“Whoa!”
Not understanding what had happened, I was held up as if being embraced, and I apologised frantically.
“I - I’m sorry…!”
“Are you alright?”
At that gentle voice asking me, my heart felt like it was being squeezed tight.
I know it. This soft, gentle voice. How many times over these four years had I dreamt of the moment this voice called my name?
There was no way I could have misheard.
But why…? She shouldn’t be here. Still confused, I slowly lifted my face.
Time slowed like slow motion. The moment our gazes met, as she held me, time froze, as if cut off.
There’s no way I could forget. Those eyes, as deep as the night sea, black as the ocean itself.
“Kanata…?”
Her eyes widened in surprise. My heart, which should have been frozen solid, suddenly began to beat again as if revived, and it wouldn’t stop.
Am I dreaming right now?
Because right now, before my eyes — there you are, a little more grown-up than back then.